Citrix Systems and LogMeIn Cloud Connectivity Products Merge

Citrix Systems and LogMeIn are free to develop their new forms following the completion of the spin-out and merger of the (see here for the background). The move brings the GoTo and LogMeIn cloud connectivity products into a single organisation, creating a stronger and focused company – never a bad thing – to compete in this hard market. LogMeIn Q4 and FY results, including FY17 forecasts, are due later this month so there will be a benchmark to start assessing progress against. CEO Bill Wagner says the company is looking to “reset customer, employee and shareholder expectations, while redefining our core markets.”

The move was primarily about Citrix getting itself out of a deepening hole that had seen 2015 performance slump, significant layoffs, and a wave of change run through its management suite, encouraged by activist investor Elliott Management, while it was also under competitive fire from the likes of VMware on the virtulisation front. FY16 results show that the situation had improved – revenue of $3.42bn vs. $3.28bn, with net income of $536m vs. $319m – and now it is in a position to build on a leaner business with a tighter focus.

Mobile and workspace services, Zen and NetScaler all saw growth during the year and they have scope for further growth as organisations look to securely push applications to mobile devices and offer desktop-as-a-Service as a means of delivering a connected workplace coupled with a positive experience, while increasing overall efficiency and performance (NetScaler, desktop virtualisation). Citrix’s use of Microsoft Azure provides another growth element as does the acquisition of Unidesk earlier this month which added layering technology that is designed enable virtual desktops and applications to be delivered in different, and more lightweight, configurations.